All the greats in business studied the greats in business. Books are the best way to do that. Here are my favorites…
Founder — Founder is the story of the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty, Mayer Amschel Rothschild.
Mayer faced bigotry that most of us could not imagine.
Like all Jews in Frankfurt at the time, he had to live in the Judengasse, a narrow, fetid, and overcrowded alley. As the Rothschild character said in the wonderful 1934 movie The House of Rothschild:
“Forbidden to own land, forbidden to learn a trade…”
Facing these restrictions, Mayer turned to banking. Unlike most bankers, he didn’t sit in his office waiting for business. He went out to his customers in person.
Many angels and VC’s sit back and wait for entrepreneurs to pitch them. Taking a page from Mayer’s book, I go out and contact them.
If we hustle, we have a chance to win.
I hardly ever read a book more than once. But I’ve read this one three times. That’ll give you an idea of how useful it is.
Angel — This is the book that got me into angel investing. Anyone who is thinking about investing in startups should read this book right away.
It’s brief, incredibly actionable, and even entertaining! In addition to being a great investor, Jason happens to be a great writer. I loved the stories from the companies he’s invested in.
Jason will tell you everything you need to know to get started. And did you know that he was the third or fourth investor in Uber? 😉
When Genius Failed — In 1994, star bond trader John Meriwether founded Long Term Capital Management (LTCM). At first, he and his partners made a fortune. But just 4 years later, his fund blew up.
The people behind LTCM were 100 times smarter than I’ll ever be. Two of them, Myron Scholes and Robert Merton, were even Nobel Laureates!
But I’ve never gone broke, and they have.
There’s such a thing as too smart for your own good. They were so confident in their theories that they leveraged their capital 30:1.
This means you have 30 borrowed dollars invested for every dollar of your own cash you put in. A mere 3% loss will wipe you out.
How could they possibly think they’d never take a 3% loss?
I can imagine — they had some complicated equation with more Greek letters than a fraternity house. It showed how they could never lose that much.
Well, the equation was wrong.
Common sense could tell you that. But sometimes we are blind to what’s right in front of us.
This book is a wonderful lesson on the dangers of hubris. I’ve read it twice, and with AI fever growing by the day, it might be time for a re-read.
Wrap-Up
Reading about major players in business, both the successful and the cautionary tales, is one of the best ways to learn. Every day, I find new lessons in these books.
You can get a lifetime of experience for a few hours of your time. If you’re not blocking out space to read, you’re really missing out on potential growth as an entrepreneur or investor.
What are your favorite books on business?
More on books:
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